‘Monkeys can count up to 4’: Is the viral claim really true or can they count beyond

For a long time, people have been wondering if monkeys can actually count. It’s not like humans, who just get numbers naturally. Monkeys have to figure it out in their own way. Some recent research shows that certain monkeys, especially rhesus monkeys, can actually tell numbers apart.

And with training, they can even do simple counting tasks.It turns out monkeys are smarter with numbers than most of us realised. They can notice, compare, and even follow sequences of items. Experiments, like one done in 2021, show just how clever they can be. Sure, they don’t count exactly like humans, but they get the idea, and that’s pretty impressive.

How monkeys track numbers and understand order

Monkeys have a trick called subitizing. Essentially, they can see a few things and just know how many there are.

Typically, they can do this for up to four or five things. This allows them to make quick decisions. Beyond that, they get confused unless they are trained. Interestingly, human babies do the exact same thing: they can identify small numbers before they even learn to count.In one experiment in 2021, scientists tested rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). They placed a line of figures on a touchscreen. The task of the monkeys was to tap the sixth figure.

The rest were identical, size, color, shape, so the monkeys couldn’t simply guess.It was a bit of a challenge at first. They got it wrong. But after a few months, most of the monkeys got it right. And even when the figures and colors changed, they could still do it. This proves they weren’t simply memorizing the figures. They were actually tracking the order, which is the point of counting. So, yeah, monkeys can count past four if you train them.

How monkeys’ number skills grow with practice

These results indicate that monkeys are able to understand numbers better than we previously believed. Of course, they only have to count small numbers, but they can be trained to count higher. They are even able to apply what they learned to a different situation. That’s a high level of flexibility when it comes to understanding numbers. Research such as this provides us with clues as to how humans may have developed their own number skills.In the wild, monkeys use subitizing to survive. They use this skill to determine which pile of food is larger or how many monkeys are in the area. However, learning to count takes time and training. It indicates that they have flexible brains. While humans can easily count large numbers, the natural limit for monkeys is small. However, research indicates that they are able to perform more complex counting tasks than we previously believed.